East Harling Primary School and Nursery

Inspection of East Harling Primary School and Nursery Gallants Lane, East Harling, Norwich, Norfolk NR16 2NQ

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 November 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 22 and 23 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. Warm relationships between staff and pupils reassure pupils that they are safe and listened to. Bullying is rare and pupils know that if they have a worry, they can go to an adult who will sort things out. Pupils say that the best things about this school are ‘teachers and friends’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are enthusiastic about learning. This is because they enjoy the way that teachers teach. Pupils find the topics they study in the new curriculum interesting. Teachers create a calm and orderly environment for pupils to learn in. Pupils know and appreciate the way that everyone is different. They say that being different is a good thing at this school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the range of clubs, trips and visits that leaders have planned for them to experience. These include, for example, dodgeball, choir and ‘boogie bounce’. Pupils can also take on a variety of responsibilities. The active school council is, as pupils say, a ‘big democracy’. School council members work with their friends to make positive changes to the school. This helps pupils to develop a sense of responsibility and influence.

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better?

Since the previous inspection, leaders have grasped the nettle of curriculum improvement. They have changed the wider curriculum in subjects, such as art and geography, for the better. Curriculum documents now set out, step-by-step, the knowledge and skills that pupils will learn. Teachers know how to teach subjects in a way that helps pupils to understand. As a result, pupils are learning more and remembering more. In art, for example, pupils apply their skills with flair and ‘personality’. This shows in their artwork, which is detailed, unique and colourful.

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better?

Children start their reading lessons as soon as they join the school. Staff are well trained. Lessons help pupils to focus on the letters and sounds they are being taught. Lessons also provide for plenty of practise. The books that pupils use for practise match the sounds they are learning. Staff give extra support to pupils who need to catch up. Leaders have also created a new reading curriculum that helps pupils to develop their reading fluency and introduces them to more sophisticated reading material.

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better?

Leaders’ intended curriculum is being taught effectively by teachers. Teachers often check whether pupils have learned what they are taught. However, sometimes they do not do this as well as they could. Leaders’ checks on this are at an early stage of development. As a result, there is a limit to which leaders are able to adapt their curriculum to reflect what works well and what could be improved.

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better?

Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength at this school. Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND get the most out of 22 and 23 November 2022

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their learning experiences in class. For example, they provide high-quality training to staff who support pupils with SEND to access the curriculum. Teachers also provide additional support that is bespoke to pupils’ needs. This includes adaptations to classroom tasks.

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Staff use a common approach to managing behaviour, both in the classrooms and outside. Staff use consistent words and phrases to help pupils settle and focus on their learning. Teachers know the pupils well. They give praise when pupils are kind, when they are successful and when they follow instructions well.

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The school’s programme of personal development prepares pupils for future responsibilities in a diverse world. Teachers teach pupils how to stay healthy, how democracy works and how to navigate friendships. There are opportunities for spirituality and reflection. Pupils learn about and appreciate different cultures through a well-designed programme of religious education.

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Teachers provide children in the early years with opportunities to develop their communication. This includes opportunities to listen to stories and sing songs. Teachers also provide daily teaching in mathematics, reading and the topic of the moment. Adults adjust activities in response to their checks on children’s individual needs. Warm relationships help children to develop a positive attitude to learning. Occasionally, teachers plan activities that do not have a clear learning purpose and so children do not learn as well as they could.

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Governors, some of whom are new to their roles, have equipped themselves with a strong understanding of high-quality education. This helps them to ask useful questions about how well the curriculum is being implemented. School leaders and governors are mindful of teachers’ workload and well-being. They have reached out to parents and built positive relationships with the community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Governors, school leaders and staff know the signs that pupils might be at risk of harm. They know how to report concerns and how to secure help for vulnerable pupils quickly. Safeguarding records are detailed. These are checked by leaders regularly. Leaders’ checks on the suitability of staff to work with children are thorough. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, including online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, in the early years, activities are engaging but do not have a clear learning purpose. Children take part in these activities but do not always learn and practise new knowledge and skills. Leaders should provide training for staff in 22 and 23 November 2022

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how to maximise opportunities for learning within the setting’s continuous provision, so that children’s opportunities to learn and practise their new knowledge and skills are maximised.  In some subjects, leaders’ monitoring is at an early stage of development. The current checks on curriculum implementation, including the use of assessment, are not sufficiently robust to give leaders absolute assurance that pupils are benefitting fully from the new curriculum design or to guide them on what improvements might be beneficial. Leaders should review and, where appropriate, adjust their systems of monitoring to give deeper insights into how effectively the curriculum is being implemented.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 22 and 23 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10240332 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Lee Adams and Kate Slack (co-chairs)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 and 6 October 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a before- and after-school club

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, members of the governing body, and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics geography and art. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, 22 and 23 November 2022

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spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors spoke with leaders about some other subjects.  To inspect the safeguarding arrangements at the school, inspectors spoke with leaders, teachers and pupils. The lead inspector also spoke with leaders responsible for safeguarding and reviewed the school’s single central record and records of safeguarding concerns.  The lead inspector spoke, via telephone, with a representative from the local authority.  The lead inspector considered responses made by 25 parents to Ofsted Parent View, including 16 free-text responses, and 15 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey. Inspectors also observed pupils during free times and spoke with pupil groups.

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Inspection team

Hannah Stoten, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Craig Avieson Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 November 2022

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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